Energized

Mother Nature needs us to find a better and cleaner way to meet our collective energy desires. But despite our best intentions and efforts by some of the world’s brightest minds, progress is slow. In this visually captivating and straight-talking documentary, Austrian filmmaker Hubert Canaval takes an exhaustive look at the what exactly we are up against right now and how people around the world are responding.

See international.memento-films.com/now/energized.

What was your primary motivation for making Energized?

The accidents of Fukushima and Deepwater Horizon were, of course, the motivation to make this film. But very soon it turned out that these types of catastrophes are not the main problem with energy production. In order to tell a more true story, it was more important to cover the collateral damage of “normal” energy production. We were shocked about our findings even in the most technically developed countries and democracies.

As you explored the global landscape of energy issues, what surprised you most?

On one hand I didn’t really expect to see how brutally people are treated who oppose or speak out, even in democratic countries. On the other hand I was moved by the many brave people I found fighting for their vision of green energy.

What is the single biggest roadblock preventing us from a better energy future?

The main problem is present in your question. There is neither a simple answer nor simple solution. Every single place in the world needs and offers a different answer to their respective energy demands. Accomplishing this would guarantee sustainable and ecological production. Of course, this is not convenient for big companies making profit by producing energy but it could result in enormous economic prosperity for the people actually living in a region.

Do you think the average person understands the bleakness of the situation at hand?

Well, I hope this film helps people to understand the problem and that it is very complex one and not only depressing like the word bleakness suggests. I think everyone is able to understand that if he/she produces their own energy for their own consumption then they themselves will profit. This is a question that everybody is able to answer, Shall he/she be able to benefit from his own energy production or an energy company?

Is there hope?

Making this film, I met so many brave people who are not only opposing big energy but also showing us how to do it. So, at the end, I do see a small stream of light on the horizon. There are many possibilities, we just have to use them.